


Shooting Stars

by TheTinyFoxtail



Series: NaLu Week [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: 2014, Dare, Effulgence, F/M, Fluff, Future, Gifts, Heartwarming, Humor, Nalu - Freeform, Nalu Week, One Shot Collection, One-Shot, Promise, Romance, Sweet, ribbon, vulnerable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-08-09
Packaged: 2018-02-09 22:13:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1999881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTinyFoxtail/pseuds/TheTinyFoxtail
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They had something truly special. Something others could only wish for on shooting stars. ―Seven little one-shots for NaLu week 2014!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1- Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! NaLu week is definitely one of my favorite times of the year. XD And while it's nearly the end of July now, I have my seven little one-shots. Better late than never, right?  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :D

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Lucy wanted was a gift from Natsu, but after some thought, she realized that perhaps he'd already given her the greatest gift of all. Perhaps, he'd been giving her little gifts every single day.

Gifts. Lucy didn't like gifts. When she was little she had received more than she could remember each birthday, the pile of brightly wrapped presents nearly touching the ceiling as she craned her neck and tried to count them all. She got everything she'd ever wanted, all that is, except for a gift from the heart.

She got books and games and clothes, trinkets and jewelry and candy, but never had she once ever received a gift that she could look at and instantly tell who it was from. She'd never gotten a gift that someone had really taken time in picking out, thinking of her likes and her needs and giving her that one heartfelt present that she'd cherish forever.

She'd never gotten one like that and so unconsciously, she'd begun to hate gifts. When she'd left her family's mansion and joined Fairy Tail, every year when her birthday came around, she made sure to tell everyone not to get her something.

Some thought she was just playing hard-to-get, secretly wanting big and expensive items but telling them not to bother. Those people were wrong, as they found out when she'd tote the presents back to the guild and hand them back to their owners. She'd apologize and tell them to return whatever they'd gotten her. She hadn't touched the wrapping or the ribbon so they should get a full refund.

And so everyone finally realized she wasn't kidding and gave into the fact that she just didn't like gifts.

She was happy when she'd wake up and not see a parcel on her doorstep. They'd finally caught on.

The one thing that could make her birthday truly great was simply spending time with them, her family, the ones she loved. She didn't need presents.

She disliked Valentine's Day because of her aversion to gifts. Sure the holiday's concept made her heart beat fast and erratically, sent shivers down her spine and made her converse heatedly with Levy and Erza about who'd be giving chocolate to who, but she still disliked it. She didn't want gifts, and yet she found the idea of a certain boy giving her flowers absolutely tantalizing.

She'd been so adverse to gifts for so long that she figured breaking down and letting someone know she wanted a valentine or chocolate or really much of anything romantic for Valentine's Day, would make everything confusing for her guild mates. She didn't want a gift on her birthday or any other day, but she did want one on the holiday of love? Not only that but from a certain person only? She figured there'd be a mix-up somewhere and so she decided to stay quiet on the matter, watching her pink-haired partner longingly as the holiday passed and no one gave her a gift again. Not that she'd asked for one.

Lucy Heartfilia didn't like gifts, but sometimes it was hard. She saw Levy change into a very ugly-looking sweater that Gajeel had gotten her, a picture of Lily's face –which looked much chubbier on the sweater than in real life- knitted onto the front. Everyone had laughed, loudly, and Levy had blushed. Gajeel was nowhere to be found.

Lucy's heart would ache. Sure, she'd laugh along and tell Levy how cute it was, but it was a bit sad. She wanted a gift like that. A gift that maybe wasn't the prettiest thing to look at, nor the most comfortable, but had been given from the heart. Gajeel really cared and had taken his time to track down some seamstress to knit a sweater with his Exceed's face on it.

Lucy watched as Juvia received nothing from Gray. Juvia didn't seem bothered by it. The two of them were going out, she hadn't received a single present, but she insisted that Gray gifted her every day in the form of his presence and the few times when he would get close to her, maybe even hug her. They were a couple, a very distant and unconventional couple, but Gray still –in a way- gave Juvia a present from the heart. She wanted his affection, and so he tried his best to show it.

Lucy would never admit that she wanted a gift from Natsu. Never. She wouldn't admit that she liked him either, but she _definitely_ wouldn't admit to wanting a gift. He was probably a horrible gift giver anyway. He'd probably give her a banana peel from the floor of his cabin and tell her it was the only thing he could find, and then grin his head off in that adorable way that somehow made her forget all the things he'd done wrong.

But after a while, after years of knowing Natsu passed, no gifts given, and her other friends began to slowly find their love, she began to pout.

In all reality she'd brought it upon herself. She'd insisted that no one ever, _ever_ give her a gift. She hated them. Don't give them to her. She was going against everything she'd said in wanting a gift from Natsu.

It was confusing. She confused herself with thinking about it sometimes. She hated presents, but she wanted one from him. She was torn in half and wished she'd just make up her mind already. Did she want gifts or not?

She began pouting when she couldn't come up with the answer. It'd be very weird if she just out-and-out asked for a gift from Natsu, not to mention that it wouldn't be his idea, and he would probably get her something really odd. That or he'd laugh and think she was joking.

She wanted him, on his own accord, to give her something. Something to let her know he cared. But then again she'd hammered it into his brain that she didn't want gifts.

She'd flop forward with an 'ugh' as her mind kept bouncing back and forth.

Erza eventually noticed her sulking and asked her what the matter was. Lucy was very hesitant to tell, instead waving it off as being tired. Erza was as perceptive as usual and continued prodding Lucy to spill. Levy trickled over later, noticing the conversation and becoming intrigued. Then Lucy had two girls pressing upon what was wrong.

It was a stand-off between the two parties. Erza and Levy refused to leave her alone until she told them what was causing her to sulk, and Lucy refused to tell them. Minutes passed, turning to hours and then finally, when the windows were dark and the crickets were chirping, Lucy gave in.

She threw her hands up in the air and said, "Fine, fine I'll tell you."

Erza and Levy let out breaths of thankfulness before leaning in closer.

Lucy fidgeted in her seat, biting her lip and reprimanding herself for giving in. How could she word it so that she wouldn't sound absolutely insane? "Um…" she mumbled. "I guess I just realized that… Natsu hasn't really ever shown any affection toward me."

Erza and Levy looked to one another. "You mean affection as in like… kissing? Oh Lucy, I don't know if Natsu's capable of comprehending feelings like that; I think you're going to have to make the first move on that one," Erza chuckled.

Lucy flushed a bright crimson and violently shook her hands toward the girls. "No!" she hissed, trying to keep the conversation as quiet as possible. "No! I didn't mean something like kissing! I meant something simple, like him giving me a gift or anything like that." Lucy slumped in her seat.

"I thought you said you didn't ever want any presents," Levy piped up.

Lucy frowned. "I did. And I don't want them it's just… watching you guys get really sweet things from Gajeel or Jellal or Juvia from Gray… it's been really sweet and I guess I kinda… want something sweet like that from Natsu." She couldn't believe she was actually confessing her worries.

Levy smiled and set her hand on top of Lucy's with a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry Lu-chan, it's like Erza said: Natsu's kinda oblivious; it'd be really hard to get something like that from him, especially since you don't like presents."

Lucy slouched further and nodded. She'd expected as much.

"But wait, what if it isn't that hard?" Erza tapped a finger to her chin and Lucy looked up hopefully. "What if Natsu already gave her a present? Remember the Hanami Party? The one Natsu dug up the entire Rainbow Sakura tree and sent it down the river?"

Levy nodded and Lucy slowly began to catch onto what Erza was saying. She'd known it was Natsu who'd done it, and when she'd looked out her window that night she'd been filled with happiness and gratefulness to her partner. She'd admitted to herself that that was probably the day she began seeing Natsu in a new light. He was sweet and kind and caring and he did everything he could for the ones he cared about. She'd always thought of it as a present amongst friends. That yeah, he'd sent it down the river so she could see it, but he'd probably done it for the other citizens as well.

"You think… that was a gift to me? His way of saying he cared?" Lucy said slowly. Suddenly she wondered how she couldn't have seen it before. Maybe it was a gift from a friend to another, but then again, maybe it wasn't. Not only that but what she'd wanted was something from the heart, and she couldn't imagine something more heartfelt than him digging up an _entire_ tree, just so she could see it.

Erza nodded with a smile, watching Lucy put together the pieces. "No one does that, Lucy. I think that's probably the most wonderful gift you could ask for. Especially from someone like Natsu."

Lucy leaned back in her chair, slowly nodding to herself. No one did that. No one went _that_ far out of their way to preform _that_ big of a gesture unless the person they were doing it for was worth more than anything to them. No one did that. No one, that is, except Natsu, who would always ignore the consequences to his actions if he could make those he loved happy. Especially Lucy.

In a way, he gave her gifts every single day. The little times, like when he'd throw his arm around her shoulder or ask her to accompany him on a job that he could've easily done himself. They were little and easily overlooked, but they were because he truly liked her and wanted to be with her. And in the end, all she'd asked for was a heartfelt gesture anyway, and he'd been giving those all along.


	2. Day 2- Vulnerable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeping alone is awfully cold after having a Dragon Slayer for a space heater every night. Maybe she shouldn't have locked him out, after all.

Lucy stared at the ceiling. She stared… and stared, and stared. It all felt too… weird.

It was quiet. Never was it _ever_ quiet in her apartment, especially not in the evening. She could hear everything. The crickets chirping outside, the few lingering drops on the shower faucet dripping into the tub, the wind lightly rattling the window panes, even her own breathing.

Lucy's eye twitched and she flopped over in her bed and onto her side, placing an elbow beneath her head as she stared at the empty and dark kitchen. It felt surreal.

She'd whined and complained about Natsu spending the night in her apartment so many times she'd lost count. She'd kicked him out by force, she'd begged him, she'd found him other places to stay and even called him out on having his own bed, which –after she'd sat down on it. Not that she'd admit she'd taken the time to sit on his bed. No one would _ever_ know about that- was actually more comfortable than her own. But no matter what she did, he'd show up at her window night after night, busting right in while she was in another room and crawling in to sleep under the covers, Happy snoring at his side.

She'd hated it. She'd complained to everyone about it, even going as far as asking for their help in banishing the "Natsu infestation" that seemed to be raging in her household. But he always came back. He was stubborn and hard-headed and absolutely determined to sleep with her every night.

She sometimes wondered if he even realized she'd told him to leave. He'd just laugh and roll over and snore louder and then come back the next night and do it all again. They'd slipped into a very deadly spiral and before she'd known it, it'd become routine.

Not that she liked it.

She thought maybe she should call herself stupid for never thinking of locking the window. She'd actually never done it before, and the night she thought of the ingenious idea she felt like banging her head against the door. How had she never thought of it before?

And so, stealthily and sneakily she'd crept over to her window when the sun was still shining, and locked it. She'd snickered to herself and dusted her hands off, and then she'd waited.

Sure enough the minute the sun dipped beneath the horizon there was a loud thump outside followed by an even louder- _BANG!_

Lucy had been in the kitchen, wiping off the counter after her dinner and had jumped a mile, squealing loudly and quickly searching for the noise. She'd found it a second later as she saw Natsu's face completely squished against the window, his eyes bulging and a red mark forming on his forehead.

He'd peeled himself off of the glass painfully, whining out a very exaggerated, "Owwwww~."

She'd stared at Natsu as he sat somehow perched on the very small windowsill she had, Happy floating around behind him, as he held a hand to his forehead and whined pitifully to himself. So the locked window _had_ worked.

She quickly threw the rag she was holding into the sink, her eyes still glued to her partner who was now looking the window up and down with a very offended look on his face, as if the window had purposefully hit him. The large red mark on his forehead was swelling and Natsu puffed out his cheeks in annoyance.

Lucy stared. He still hadn't noticed her watching him, nor had he realized that the window was locked.

Natsu placed his hands on the window and pushed. Nothing. He stared at it incredulously for a second before heaving against it harder. It still didn't budge. He heaved and huffed and puffed and pushed, his feet sliding on the windowsill and his face turning red with effort. It didn't give an inch.

Natsu threw his arms up in the air, teetering on the sill but keeping his balance. "What the hell's up with this thing?" he barked at the window, his voice very muffled by the glass in between them.

It was at this point that Lucy began to feel guilty. Maybe it'd been too sudden to just lock him out. His only hope of getting inside was the window or the door, and he'd long since abandoned going through the door due to the fact that she wouldn't open it and let him in. The window was his only option and she'd locked him out. He didn't realize it yet, but when he did… would his feelings be hurt?

Lucy only wanted a night of sleep alone, without the heat flushing her cheeks as she tried to stay completely still next to him, fearful of either waking him or brushing up against him in an inappropriate manner. The warmth he provided was nice, and in all reality sleeping next to him was very comfortable, but she couldn't ever get a really good night's sleep with all the paranoia she had.

She'd shift slightly and her butt would brush up against his hand and she'd squeak in embarrassment, her face turning hot. It was a twin-sized bed after all; it was much too small for two people to sleep in comfortably, unless they were cuddling. That thought made her blush even harder.

Lucy's guilt turned absolutely horrible and she ducked behind her kitchen counter to hide. His feelings would probably be hurt; she didn't want to hurt his feelings. She honest to goodness just wanted a good night's sleep. She sat down on the linoleum, pressing her back against the island counter and obscuring herself from Natsu's view.

He was still raving and ranting at the window, his voice muffled as he called it numerous colorful names. He hadn't seen her and she was grateful. Although, he hadn't realized that it was her who had locked the window either.

His curses silenced a moment later and Lucy's breath caught. Maybe if he thought she wasn't home he wouldn't think she'd done it, and he wouldn't interpret it wrong and think she'd done it because she didn't want to be with him.

"Lucy?" he asked through the window. She bit her lip and kept completely quiet and still. She heard a squeak on the window's glass and guessed he had pressed his face right up to it so he could see inside. She'd been about ready to go to bed and so she only had a very dim light on above the kitchen sink. Although, she sometimes kept that on during the day anyway to hopefully make burglars think there was someone home. Maybe he wouldn't think anything of it.

"Hmmm," he muttered. "Luuucy?" He was silent for a moment, waiting for her answer. "I don't think she's home, Happy," he sighed.

"Aye, but I thought she said she was hitting the hay early tonight," she heard Happy chirp behind her partner.

"Yeah… maybe she changed her mind." She pictured Natsu shrugging and looking back at the blue Exceed. "Maybe she's hanging out with Levy or something. Let's go check the guild."

"Aye sir!"

There was another light thump and then all was quiet. Lucy gave it a few minutes before ever-so-hesitantly turning around and peering over the counter. The window was empty, no sign of Natsu or Happy anywhere aside from the smudge on the window where Natsu's face had hit. It was completely quiet too; a sure sign that Natsu wasn't around.

Lucy sighed to herself and stood. She wasn't sure how to feel. She was a bit relieved, in a way. They'd left and she could get ready for bed in peace, hopefully getting a calm night alone in which she could finally get some much-needed rest. But she also still felt immensely guilty. If Natsu was going to the guild, he wouldn't find her. He'd probably ask around and someone would tell him that they'd seen her go home. He might even search the town, but eventually he'd realize that she was in fact home, and had locked the window to keep him out.

She felt horrible. How could she do that to her partner? How could she do that to Natsu? They were so close.

She'd shaken herself of the thoughts, instead focusing on the image of sleeping the night away without having to worry about whose hand was where and not accidentally playing footsie with him under the sheets. She wanted to do that one day, but not one day soon, especially with Happy snoring away at the bottom of the bed.

She took a long shower, the hot water washing away her worries. She'd eventually deducted that Natsu would probably come back. He'd probably find out she was home and come back and rap on the window and demand that she let him in and explain herself because he was tired and wanted some sleep too, you know. Yeah, that's what he'd say.

She pulled on her pajamas and sleepily exited the bathroom. She expected to see his face in the window, probably looking a bit steamed by now, but instead all she saw was a starry sky. She stared for a moment before shrugging. Maybe he'd caught on and realized she wanted a night alone. Maybe he'd give her one night of peaceful sleeping bliss and then come back. She'd let him in tomorrow. She only wanted one night; plus, she was still feeling incredibly guilty.

She'd wandered to bed, sighing happily and sliding beneath the covers, snuggling in and laying down, closing her eyes and waiting for sleep to take her. And that's where she found herself now.

She'd expected to fall asleep instantly, but instead she was faced with a desolate and dark room, too quiet for its own good and oddly cold. She stared at her fridge, her eyes wandering to every item in the room as she counted them, hoping counting books and pencils would be the same as counting sheep. It wasn't.

It felt weird though, and she couldn't exactly place why.

Without Natsu sleeping beside her, it felt… uncomfortable. Sure, she didn't have to constantly try and hide a blush and try to stay as still as possible, but it felt very stiff and uncomfortable. The sheets felt stiff and the bed felt hard. The darkness seemed cold and the quiet was impenetrable.

She felt… vulnerable.

Without his snoring, his heat, his presence, his arm sometimes flopping onto her, she felt vulnerable. She'd grown used to him and his sleeping habits and without them it just felt cold and desolate. She wanted him there, keeping her safe.

It felt silly to say that. He was keeping her safe in her own apartment where the only thing that could probably hurt her was if she stubbed her own toe on the table, but it was true. There was a certain safety factor in play when he was there. Like she could completely forget about everything else and just relax for a bit, even if she _was_ on high-alert embarrassment wise.

She clenched her jaw, feeling even guiltier. She'd just put Natsu through not only what would soon probably be a mountain-sized forehead bruise, but also a night of looking for her, only ending in disappointment when someone would inevitably tell him she was home and had locked him out. Not only that, but she _wanted_ him back in her bed, in her room, and so it'd all been for nothing.

If she would've gotten that good night's sleep she'd been hoping for, it would have been worth it. But wanting him back and being unable to sleep? It'd been a waste.

She pondered what she should do.

Finally she decided to scrap her original plan of locking the window and go from there. She threw off the covers irritatedly and stalked over to the window. She flipped the latch and slowly pulled open the window. A light and cool breeze fluttered in, whooshing into the curtains as her eyes scanned the town's silhouette for a pink-haired Dragon Slayer.

She stared and searched but came up empty. She bit her lip, chewing on it anxiously and contemplating what to do. She wouldn't be able to sleep. Not now. But then again she wasn't going to go out and find Natsu herself. She sighed, shaking her head and deciding to leave her window open for the night. She might get some bugs but she didn't care. He'd know it was an open invitation. If he came, he came, if he didn't, he didn't.

"I… don't like it without you…," she said softly to herself, her eyes searching the night before violently shaking her head and padding back over to her bed.

She crawled in and shivered to herself. It was very cold without him.

She laid there for what seemed like hours. She counted the seconds, which in turn turned into minutes, and eventually she lost count. It was too quiet, but eventually she felt her eyelids drooping. She willingly welcomed sleep and soon it pulled her under.

She was awoken briefly during the night, still very blurry-eyed as a light thump signaled his arrival again. He hopped inside of her room and she sleepily looked up at him. Natsu looked around her apartment with a slight frown and a very large bruise before shrugging, his feet knocking on the hardwood as he walked over to her bed.

She was still very much asleep, her eyes struggling to stay awake, a very blurry image of him standing over her bed being the last thing she remembered seeing that night, her eyes too heavy to keep open. She felt him climb onto the bed unusually gently, shimmying beneath the covers. All of her insecurities and worries were gone, the cold hard night instead replaced by a warm and soft arm around her, his body heat lulling her into a sense of security.

She slowly drifted back off to sleep then, her mind becoming cloudy. Although, she swore she heard, right before sleep took hold, "I don't like it without you either," whispered in her ear.


	3. Day 3- Ribbon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy finds a ribbon he thinks looks like Lucy's. And things pretty much go downhill from there.

Happy trotted along happily behind Natsu and Lucy as they opened the doors to the guild. It was a good day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and most importantly, they had just gotten Lucy's rent paid with the reward from the job they'd just come back from. And if Happy knew anything, a happy Lucy meant a happy life.

The guild burst out with shouts and good mornings as the trio entered the guild, as per usual.

Happy lagged behind as Lucy and Natsu made it to the bar to let Makarov know how they'd done. They'd probably be relaxing at a table in a few minutes, not to mention picking out a job to set out on tomorrow. They were fast. Happy liked jobs but sometimes he wondered if those two ever slowed down enough to smell the roses. The roses smelled nice; it was nice to relax every once in a while.

Speaking of roses… Happy's heart leapt in his chest as he spotted Carla across the room, floating in midair and looking as stunningly perfect as ever. She smelled like roses. His brain on autopilot, Happy dazedly stumbled across the guild and toward Carla.

He was a small cat and everyone had gotten used to him using his wings. They didn't look down at the ground much anymore, and Happy found himself haphazardly stumbling around feet, tripping over empty beer glasses, and shying away from chair legs.

However, in his dazed state he seemed to fail in his game of minefield and ended up tripping on a loose floorboard, his eyes still glued to Carla as he went face-first to the floor with a splat.

His wonderfully beautiful view of Carla was completely disrupted by the smelly wooden view he now had. He grunted, pushing himself up and onto his feet before shaking out his fur. Just as he was about to look for the wonderful white Exceed again, something on the floor caught his eye. He squinted.

A ways away, caught underneath a chair, was a scrap of color. He tilted his head before again dodging heels and table legs. Somehow, he made it over to the item, tripping once again but managing to turn it into a diving roll –which looked very suave and movie-like to Happy if he did say so himself.

He yanked the piece of fabric out from under the chair and stared at it for a second. It was a ribbon. Probably from one of Cana's outfits, she seemed to be losing strings from that bikini-like top –which she absolutely refused to call a swimsuit- all the time. It was light blue in color, almost matching Happy's fur, and he put a paw to his chin in pondering.

It looked familiar somehow. Like he'd seen it somewhere before. He plopped down by the chair, under the safe confine of the table and stared out into the guild. It only took him a few beats to realize what it looked like. It looked exactly like the ribbon Lucy wore in her hair –if it would've lost a few stray threads here and there, that is.

Happy's mouth curved into a devious smile as his eyes found their way to Natsu and Lucy's backs. Oh yes, it looked exactly like Lucy's hair ribbon.

Now, Happy wasn't a cat to brag, but he had to admit he was quite possibly the most evil genius he knew. Well, not evil per say, but at least devious. He liked to tease people, in fact, he loved it. It was his favorite pastime, and as he stared down at the ribbon in his hand, an ingenious idea took hold.

In a blur he fastened the ribbon around his ear on the same side Lucy had her ribbon. He then dashed out into the guild, sprouting his wings and taking flight.

Some guild members gave him an, "Oh hey Happy, didn't see you come in!" Indeed he was a bit unnoticed when he walked around on the floor like a human. Although, being unnoticed and stealthy was something required of an evil genius like himself.

"Natsu~" Happy called in the most feminine voice he could conjure.

"Eh?" Natsu turned around from the bar with a stretch and cocked an eyebrow at his Exceed. "What's up buddy- what're you wearing?" Lucy turned around then, searching Happy up and down for what could have surprised Natsu, and finally finding it.

Happy plopped down onto a tabletop, his wings disappearing as a few members crowded around the table with confused looks.

"Look Natsu," Happy said, putting one paw on his hip and the other behind his head. "I'm Lucy," he said, sticking out his hip exaggeratedly in an attempt to mimic the blonde.

"I don't look like that," Lucy snapped irritatedly, crossing her arms underneath her chest and pouting slightly.

Natsu snickered to himself, holding a hand over his mouth and trying to keep himself quiet.

"I don't look like that," Happy repeated, his voice staggeringly close to Lucy's. He crossed his arms and puffed out his chest, mimicking Lucy's bustiness which she used to get her way a lot of times.

Lucy flushed and quickly uncrossed her arms, hoping no one had made the connection.

"She does do that sometimes, though," Erza said, tapping a finger to her chin and looking Lucy up and down. "Perhaps she could find a different appealing pose. That one might be losing its pizazz."

Just hearing the word 'pizazz' come out of Erza's mouth was odd enough, but Happy continued onward as more guild members began peering over toward the table. Happy could see it now: he'd fully embarrass Lucy this time. She'd called him 'stupid cat' so many times that she was just asking for it. Sure, maybe he'd said that she "liiiiiked" Natsu far too many times and had thoroughly ticked her off… but still… he was an Exceed, _not_ a cat. Although he did like fish… but that was beside the point.

Happy swiveled his hips and put his hands behind his head, making the ribbon flutter as he moved. "I'm Lucy and I sometimes hide romance novels behind historical fiction books because I don't want anyone to know what I'm reading," Happy said in his high-pitched voice, grinning as Lucy squeaked loudly.

"I don't do that!" she hissed, her face flushing extremely red. Everyone looked in her direction and she cowered. "Okay, maybe one time, but one time only!"

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia and I won't admit that it wasn't just a romance book but a really steamy mature love story," Happy said, struggling to keep his voice steady as Natsu's eyes went wide and he let out a loud guffaw.

"No it wasn't!" Lucy screeched, her blush trickling down her face and onto her neck. "It wasn't I swear!"

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" Gray sneered beside her and Lucy gave him a drop-dead glare.

By now, more guild members had become intrigued by the development and were stumbling over to the table. Happy had quite a vast audience by now. Some were snickering while others looked absolutely shocked that Lucy would do something like that.

Happy blew a kiss to Lucy before continuing. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia and I tripped on my apartment stairs one day and flashed the entire city."

Lucy frowned. "Everyone's clumsy."

" _And_ ," Happy added, "they all saw that I had little baby dragons on my underwear."

Lucy's eyes went wide as a few others at the table burst out laughing, including Gajeel who found the thought of baby dragons to be hilarious for some reason. He made a snide comment about 'Bunny Girl' being childish on the inside.

"You promised not to tell anyone that," Lucy hissed.

"At least I'm not telling them there were little flames by the baby dragons," Happy added, grinning madly. He'd been around for a lot of embarrassing moments for Lucy, and had never told anyone. This was pure bliss to him.

Natsu still cackled loudly to himself, apparently not making the connection of fire to him, which apparently everyone else had as they nudged Lucy suggestively and wiggled their eyebrows, talking about 'burning passions' and 'we didn't know you liked your partner like that'. Lucy's blush was growing furiously hot and for a moment Happy wondered if she'd hurt herself.

But he continued anyway, adopting the high-pitched voice again and continuing. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia and I can't hold my alcohol. I become a giggly mess and start telling everyone embarrassing facts about myself. That's why I never drink, not because I'm watching my weight," Happy added.

It was then that the blue Exceed saw the realization dawn upon Lucy. One of the few times Lucy _had_ gotten drunk, she'd been given Happy as an escort home to make sure she was alright. She realized that he must've gotten all kinds of juicy secrets out of her during that walk. Happy saw her face pale and snickered to himself.

She hadn't revealed anything really personal, and the more personal things that might actually ruin her reputation, such as the time she'd ruined a million dollar painting –which looked like a two year old drew it. She'd never understand fine art- and she'd quickly replaced it with a drawing of her own that she'd tried to make look like the original. Or the time she'd really let down and confessed all of her feelings for Natsu, some sweet, and some a little dirty. Happy would tease her forever about her liking Natsu, but he wouldn't reveal too much. He was an evil genius, not a life-ruiner.

"Oh Lu-chan, you can't," Levy snickered behind her, nodding. "You really can't," she added with a giggle, patting her friend on the back.

"Hah! He gets you! His impression is right on the mark!" Natsu bellowed, tiny puffs of smoke and fire coming out of his mouth as he belly laughed at the impression, not so much the information Happy was sharing. But then again, that was to be expected.

"I'm Lucy, and I have a list of all the guys in Fairy Tail along with a ranking from one to ten on how hot they are," Happy piled on.

"That's not just mine!" Lucy defended as more laughing was heard in the group. "I wrote that list with Levy and Erza and HAPPY I WILL KILL YOU-"

"There's only one guy with a nine ranking, because I wanted to be fair –no one's perfect- and that guy's my lovely partner of course~!" Happy wiggled his tail and danced around for a second. "I liiiiiike him."

Lucy's blush went nuclear then and she threw her arms up in the air, heatedly telling Happy she would turn him into cat stew before embarrassedly stalking out of the guild.

The members continued to laugh to themselves, giving Happy slaps on the back as he untied the ribbon from his ear. He'd not really shared anything too awfully embarrassing, although he had alluded to her immense crush on Natsu, which everyone seemed to get except Natsu himself who was now trying to impersonate Lucy, pouting his lips and sticking out his chest while cackling with laughter. Gray told him what an oblivious idiot he was, and because Natsu was having so much fun, he didn't even retaliate.

Happy grinned at the guild's door. Oh yes, he was an evil genius indeed. It'd give the guild something to talk about for days to come. Hopefully, anyway. Or he might have to whip the ribbon back out and give it another go, dishing more embarrassing secrets.

He looked down at the scrap of cloth in his hands and nodded. He had a secret weapon now. He could just threaten Lucy with it and she'd comply. He was such a genius. He deserved an award.

"Hey, buddy," Natsu said, flopping onto the table with a grin and looking to the doors. He glanced back to Happy, his eyebrows knitted together and an intense expression which Happy couldn't place on his face. "Did she really have fire dragons on her underwear?"


	4. Day 4- Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He sure kept his promises, that silly boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured I should throw in a cute little AU for the week. XD

_"Luce!" he called. "Luuuuce!"_

_She looked up from the small mound of sand in front of her, frowning as it crumbled into nothing more than a pile. Sandcastles were harder than they looked, especially without any water. She held a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun, spotting him in the distance, just a speck with a scarf flying out behind him._

_As he grew closer she could tell how fast he was running. He was sprinting, in fact, a cloud of dust the size of a mountain kicking up behind him as he grinned ear-to-ear, feet stomping on the ground madly._

_"Luuuce!" he called again, as if she hadn't heard him the first time. She doubted anyone in the entire country hadn't heard him the first time._

_She waved him down. "Yeah, Natsu, I'm over here!" she called out to him._

_He stampeded all the way up to her, screeching to a halt just in time as she squealed and shielded herself, bracing for the impact. The dust settled and as she didn't feel his undoubtedly sweaty little body come colliding into hers, she peered out to look at him._

_"Whatcha doin', Luce?" he asked, panting heavily, that grin still plastered onto his face._

_She brought her arms down and shook her head. "I thought you weren't going to stop in time."_

_"Pffssht," Natsu scoffed before jabbing a thumb into his chest. "I can stop whenever I want to. I could stop on any dime ever," he bragged. "Here. Throw a dime and I bet I can stop on it," he encouraged with a nod._

_She stared at him incredulously for a moment before covering her mouth with a hand, giggling lightly to herself._

_"Ay, whatcha laughin' at?" he asked, his smile fading._

_She waved a hand at him and shook her head, the giggles turning into chortles and then bursting out into loud heaving laughter. "Nothing Natsu," she gasped, trying to get herself under control. "You're just so odd sometimes." He was gung-ho about absolutely everything, even things like taking out the trash and loading the dishwasher were things that he did with gusto, hoping he'd get it done faster than anyone else. He never slowed down. He never let up. He was always so intense. Perhaps those were some of the reasons she liked him so much._

_Natsu looked a bit confused but shook it off, instead clenching his hands into excited fists and bouncing up and down in place. "Luce, Luce, guess what?"_

_Lucy took a deep and steadying breath, ridding herself of the laughter and wiping away a stray tear. "What?"_

_"Look, look, look," Natsu chanted, rummaging around in his pocket with his tongue out in concentration before finding his item and whipping it out, holding out the tiny object so it was only around an inch away from her nose._

_She leaned backward to get a better look at it, the sand crunching beneath her. "A bread tie?" she asked._

_"Oh, woops," Natsu said, laughing awkwardly. He took the tie, and with his hands blurring he was moving so fast, fixed its shape. "Here."_

_She looked at it again. It was a circle now, tied at the top. She stared. What was it supposed to be? It looked kinda like a necktie for a toad. She glanced up to his face to see he still held the exact same amount of enthusiasm as he had when he'd first arrived, perhaps even more. If she couldn't decipher what it was… would he be offended? Surely not. "Um… it's nice...," she said slowly. "But um… what is it?"_

_Natsu gave her a wink and plopped down onto the grass outside the sandbox. Lucy turned to face him, pulling her legs in criss-cross and staring, intrigued and waiting for his answer._

_"I didn't know what it was either, but Papa told me," he said with another wink, as if he were trying to sell insurance or silverware. "I was watching TV, y'know, the cartoon with the blue cat? Yeah, well, he got a ring and gave it to the white cat!" Natsu exclaimed. "I asked Papa what it meant, and he said that the blue cat must've really liked the white cat. He said a bunch of other stuff too but I kinda zoned out for it. Something about if you really like a girl you give her a ring and then it's a promise you'll stay together forever." Natsu nodded excitedly._

_Lucy wasn't foreign to the concept of marriage. Her mother and father had explained it to her nearly from the time she was born. She giggled again at Natsu's antics. He was so sweet and it didn't surprise her that he'd had no idea what giving someone a ring meant._

_He cocked his head at her laughter and she cleared her throat and nodded for him to continue._

_"So… well… here!" Natsu said, grinning madly and shoving the twisted up bread tie toward her. Lucy squeaked in surprise, her cheeks growing hot. "Here Luce! If I'm supposed to give a ring to a girl I want to stay together forever with, it'd be you! I think staying together forever would be awesome!" He wiggled the ring at her, asking her to take it._

_She did so hesitantly, her face aflame as she looked from Natsu, to the ring, and then back again. He gave her a reassuring nod and she slowly slipped it onto her finger. She was getting married. At the age of six. She couldn't believe it, but then again she didn't want Natsu to ever leave either. They were best friends._

_Natsu pumped an excited fist into the air. "Yes! Now we can always be together! I promise we will be, Luce," he said, his eyes shining brightly as he took ahold of her hand and yanked her out of the sandbox._

Lucy felt her lip twitch upward at the memory, wiggling her fingers back and forth as she watched the diamond on her finger sparkle in the midday sun.

She'd done it. She was going to marry her childhood friend. She'd heard stories about how friends drifted apart, how little kids hardly ever stayed in contact with the ones they'd grown up with, even if they'd made memories and pacts for the future. But she'd done it. She'd been side-by-side with Natsu for nearly every single day of her life since then. Of course, the ring given to her on the playground wasn't official, and it wasn't until years and years later that Natsu finally got the real gist of what giving a ring meant.

And the moment he had, Lucy had found him on one knee, that same goofy smile on his face and his eyes sparkling with joy.

They'd been through a lot together, and she couldn't think of anyone she would've rather gone through it with.

"Here, here they ar- ow, owowowowow!" Lucy jumped as Natsu weaved his way in and around tables, juggling the basket of nachos they'd ordered in his hands, the burning sauce spilling everywhere.

He made it to the table and tossed the basket on top, plopping down in his seat and collapsing forward onto the table, blowing on his hands dramatically. Lucy's hands hovered over him, unsure of what to do.

"You okay?" she asked.

Natsu blew air on his fingers for a few more seconds before sighing, and turning to her with a very charismatic grin and a thumbs up. "Of course! I can handle any kind of heat! Test me! I bet I can handle it!"

Lucy stared at him for a moment before her mouth turned into a smile. She brought a hand to her lips and giggled as quietly as she could.

"What? What's so funny?" Natsu frowned, plucking a chip from the basket and chomping noisily on it.

She shook her head, her giggles turning into heaving laughter before slowly dying down as other customers looked her way in confusion. She shied away from their glances and took a deep breath to steady herself. "Nothing," she sighed, blinking the water from her eyes.

Natsu shrugged, grabbing another chip and tossing it into his mouth before nudging the tray of nachos toward her so she could reach.

She watched him for a moment, her eyes softening as he shook out his hands again and wiped them off onto a napkin, the smile still evident on his face even though his mouth was full. He hadn't changed a bit, and she didn't want him to.

She looked down at her ring again. Although this one was much more expensive and prettier to look at, she would still always hold that first ring he'd given her very dear. It was in a drawer somewhere, she was sure. She'd have to go dig it up later and put it in her jewelry box.

"Here, eat, you said you were starvin'," Natsu said, nudging the basket closer and nodding for her to dig in.

She smiled at him, nodding and taking a chip.

He'd made her a promise how many years ago now… eighteen or so? He'd made a promise that they'd be together forever, and he was keeping it so far. She shook her head and crunched down on the nacho, Natsu looking a tad relieved that she seemed to be enjoying it.

He sure kept his promises, that silly boy.


	5. Day 5- Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Natsu's absolutely sure he can get the girl he likes to go out with him. Although, Lucy'd been pretty sure it wasn't her. He really needed to work on the correct way to ask a question.

It wasn't an odd sight to see Gray and Natsu fighting when she walked into the guild. It was a rather mundane occurrence now, unlike the first however many months after she'd joined the guild. It'd taken her a long time to get used to it in fact. Whenever she'd open those gigantic wooden doors and see one hell of a brawl breaking out, she'd squeak and try to avoid the chaos. Others told her that it was just how Fairy Tail worked. Gray would tease Natsu, Natsu would retaliate, and pretty soon everyone was involved. But nonetheless, it'd taken her a while to get used to it.

But by now, she'd adapted. When she walked inside the guild to see Natsu and Gray face-to-face, yelling at each other and snarling and calling names, she didn't even bat an eye.

She didn't bat an eye that is, until she'd sat down at the bar, watching the two boys and shaking her head, when Mira tapped on her shoulder. Lucy looked back at the white-haired barmaid. "Hm?"

Mira giggled before nodding over toward the two fighting boys. "You should listen in; it's really quite entertaining."

"Entertaining?" Lucy echoed, squinting her eyes and trying to decipher the insults being thrown back and forth. She couldn't understand what they were saying. Mira had some hearing on her, that was for sure. "What're they arguing about?" Lucy asked, an eyebrow raised in interest. Usually people didn't take a second look; why would Mira think it was interesting?

"Well, this morning Gray announced he had a date with a woman, although he wouldn't say who. Juvia was awfully upset, but he wouldn't even tell her. Anyway, Natsu said that this "mystery woman" was probably really ugly. Gray yelled back that she was beautiful and Natsu said if she was pretty, then she was probably secretly a real creep, or even worse, a dude. They went off then, and they've been at it for a while."

Lucy frowned. "What's so interesting about that?" Yeah, it wasn't every day that the notoriously cold Gray Fullbuster would go out with a woman, but their fight didn't seem too out of the ordinary.

Mira shook her head. "It's escalating. I feel like they're finally going to put their money where their mouth is this time and actually do something about the fight."

"Huh?" Lucy grunted, eyeing the barmaid intensely. She wasn't quite sure what Mira had meant by that. She was far beyond confused by Mira's statement, but soon enough she began getting the idea. Especially when her eyes were torn off of Mira when her name was called.

"Lucy!" She looked over toward the shout-match between the two boys to find they were facing away from each other, arms crossed and noses in the air as if they thought the other was nothing but dirt. She thought they both were pretty childish if they kept up their little spats, but she wasn't going to interject.

"Hm?" Gray had been the one to call. She knew he wanted her to go over there, but she wasn't so sure. She didn't want to get involved in their fight. She'd just end up making a fool of herself and others all at the same time. She'd learned to steer clear of them, especially when they were trying to one-up each other, which looked to be the case as Gray straightened himself to become taller, and Natsu in turn slowly rose onto his toes to best his rival in height.

Lucy looked over at them with unamusement as they continued their silent competition, each rising higher onto their toes and each becoming more and more wobbly with each inch. Pretty soon they'd reached their terminal height, unable to get any higher, even with a little bit of ice or fire added beneath their feet, and ended up coming out even, even their hair reaching the same height.

"C'mon over here," Gray growled, sneering back at Natsu as the fire mage tried to make his hair stand on end with heat.

She really didn't want to. She didn't want to be the center of this. It'd never turn out well. But then again they'd actually asked. Usually she'd just get yanked over by the arm with an 'eep' before being asked the most random of questions.

_"Hey, whose eyes are slantier?"_

_"Hey, whose clothes are out of date?"_

_"Hey, who do you think could eat ten hot dogs faster?"_

_"Hey, who do you think Plue is more afraid of?"_

The questions seemed to be getting more and more random by the day, and she wasn't sure if she could answer any more of them. Gray had slanty eyes, no one's clothes were out of date, she had no idea who could eat ten hot dogs faster, and she was pretty sure Plue was hesitant of most of the mages at Fairy Tail; aside from maybe Wendy who treated the tiny spirit very kindly, never accidentally hitting it with a ball of flames or a spear of ice. Lucy didn't blame Plue; she'd be afraid of them too.

She sighed to herself, giving in and slipping off of her stool before slowly and hesitantly walking over, keeping her distance and stopping a few feet away from the boys. She put her hands on her hips, readying herself internally for whatever weird question she could be asked. "What is it this time?"

"Ice Bastard thinks I can't get a date!" Natsu yelled. "Ooh, that pisses me off!" he shouted at the ceiling, flames coming out between his words. He really was steamed if he was already shooting off fire.

Gray snickered. "Tch, like you could get a date in a thousand years. I bet even if you were the last man on Earthland, no girl would want to go out with you."

Natsu took in a large gasp before turning back around to face the ice mage. "Yeah right! Any girl in their right mind would pick me over you!"

Gray shrugged, waving a hand nonchalantly. "Well, obviously not, since I have a date and you don't." He sneered, grinning triumphantly.

Natsu puffed up angrily, spluttering to himself as he tried to come up with a comeback and failed. "Well, you, just… Lucy! I am totally dating material!" he shouted.

Lucy looked him up and down with a slightly amused smile. He was sweet, to her. She found herself blushing at the thought of a date with Natsu whenever she was alone. Yes, she'd had a crush on her partner for some time now, and while she maybe saw him as dating material, she doubted other girls did.

He was loud and obnoxious, oblivious and hard-headed. He wasn't exactly every girl's dream. A girl wanted to date a boy who would treat them right, not a boy that was still most likely a kid mentally, who would mess up nearly every date with either a fight or just his pure innocence. Lucy found that sweet and endearing, but she doubted other girls would.

Not that she would tell him that.

Lucy shrugged. "I dunno. You guys keep fighting like two-year-olds so I don't know what kinds of girls would look your way."

Natsu puffed out his cheeks and Gray gave her a light glare.

"I could totally get a date faster than Ice Princess!"

Gray sighed. "If you're so adamant, fine. I have a date with my girl tonight, but I'm pretty sure it's going to go well, in which case I will take her out next Friday; one week from today. If you can get an honest to goodness date by then, I'll call it even."

Natsu's eyes lit up and he clenched his hand into a fist of determination. "Alright! You're on!"

Gray held up a finger. "Not just any date though. I dare you to get a date with the girl you like. I know you like someone, every guy does, so it has to be her, not just some random chick you pick up on the street and convince to have dinner with you."

Natsu paused for only a brief second before shouting. "You're on!" He pumped a fist into the air before promptly sprinting out of the guild, cackling loudly to himself and calling for Happy who was going to be his, "wing man and sidekick. No pun on the 'wing'".

Lucy shook her head. "You think he can do it?"

Gray shrugged. "Beats me. All I know is not only do I have a date tonight, but I found a way to get Natsu off my ass for a week. This could quite possibly be the best day of my life." He sent Lucy a cocky grin before giving her a wave. "Well I'm off. Make sure he doesn't kill himself, would ya?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I'll try."

Gray nodded and disappeared outside, fading into the night's pitch black air. Lucy deflated, leaning over with a loud and exaggerated 'uugh', before collapsing into the nearest chair. She figured Natsu could eventually get some kind of girl to go out with him. Whether he had to bribe her, or perhaps just be charming for a few minutes –if he could manage to do that, that is-, she didn't know, but she figured he could do it. Although, if he was to try and get the girl he really liked to go out on a date, she had no idea if he'd succeed.

She had to admit part of her sunk down deep when he'd run outside instead of turning to her and asking _her_ if she'd wanted to go on a date. That meant she wasn't the lucky girl. She decided to let it go. It wasn't important who he chose.

.

.

.

**Day 1- 144 hours left**

Natsu burst through the guild doors, Happy at his side and a grin on his face. He'd walked in, slapping people on the backs, giving high-fives, and complimenting everyone he saw. It made some blush, although most were just confused.

Lucy sat at the bar. She'd discussed the past night's dare/bet -she wasn't sure which to call it- with Mira. Mira had giggled knowingly and said she had had a feeling something like that would happen.

Lucy tried not to look at Natsu, although she couldn't help it. She waited for him to stop at a table, sitting down next to the girl he was to ask out. She was quite curious as to who it would be. She had not a single clue or idea as to who he had a crush on.

Her heart began to beat faster and faster as he came toward her. It was silly to think that maybe he'd stop next to her. He'd probably already asked the girl out the past night, and that was why he was so happy today.

She could hear her pulse in her ears as he slowly came closer and closer, yards, then feet, then inches… and he passed by. Congratulating people and giving thumbs up signs to random members before promptly stalking up the stairs in the back and out the back door.

Lucy stared at the back door to the guild as it swung shut. He'd literally just walked in and then walked out. Maybe his girl hadn't been there.

Mira giggled. "He's so odd."

.

.

.

**Day 2 – 120 hours left**

"Found your girl yet, Flame Brain?" Gray took a swig of beer and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He smirked over at Natsu as the pink-haired mage missed a beat, flinching slightly.

Natsu gave him a large smile though, shaking his head. "You'll just have to wait and see. You'll see on Friday, that is… if your girl didn't dump you already…," he raised an eyebrow at Gray.

"Tch," Gray snorted, downing his glass in one gulp. "Like she'd ever do that. Of course we're still together. You tryin' to change the topic?"

"Nope," Natsu piped back, his eye twitching. Lucy could see he was trying to stay upbeat, and trying not to yell back at Gray, but he was having a hard time of it. Normally Natsu would've grabbed Gray by the necklace and smacked him clear across the guild because of the cocky undertone in Gray's voice, but he hadn't. It was strange.

Gray eyed him carefully, looking almost a bit worried of the sudden change in his rival's personality. "Alright then, just… d-don't forget…" Gray trailed off, giving Natsu a very peculiar look as the salmon-haired mage continued to grin wildly, his eyes nearly closed.

"He really is odd," Lucy whispered to herself.

.

.

.

**Day 3- 96 hours left**

Natsu burst through the guild doors, the sun already set and most of the members of the guild already half-asleep or passed out drunk.

Lucy jumped in her barstool, tilting backward but managing to catch herself. Kinana asked if she was alright and she nodded, peering over her shoulder at Natsu.

He had his scarf wrapped around his head, his hands pulled together, and his eyes squinted. Happy was right beside him in a very similar position. Lucy'd seen that pose before. She pondered for a moment before realizing it was the move he'd struck when trying to be ninja-like. She hadn't seen him do something like that in months. She tried not to snicker but ultimately failed, biting down on her tongue to keep from laughing as he did a forward roll into the guild.

Everyone stared at him with wide and popping eyes as he rolled across the guild, slowly but surely, his eyes shifting stealthily as he paused after each summersault.

"W-what is he doing?" Kinana whispered to Lucy.

"I…" He rolled again. "I have… no idea," she replied with a snort.

Everyone seemed stunned silent by his odd performance, not speaking up or asking him any questions as to what he was doing, instead watching dedicatedly as he rolled his way across the floor. The minute he hit the staircase he sprinted up it, again exiting out the back door. Once again he'd entered and exited, without doing a single thing.

Yes, yes he was definitely a very, very odd duck.

.

.

.

**Day 4- 72 hours left**

"Hey… hey ye-eyah- yeah, I-I'll have another." He hiccupped, waving his glass toward Mira, Lucy flinching in her seat as he almost dropped the glass, juggling it haphazardly and catching it again.

Mira snatched it from his hands, frowning down at him. "I think you've had enough. I've never seen you this drunk."

Natsu blinked, his mouth turning into a frown, then a smile, then a frown, then a yawn, and then finally settling in a thin line. "Pffshsshhhtttt I'm fiiiine," he mumbled, waving a hand at her.

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm cutting you off."

He whined loudly, kicking his feet against the bar like a toddler.

"Hey. Hey. No." Mira shook a finger in his face. "No. Don't do that."

If the situation hadn't been so odd, -and she wasn't so worried about whatever girl he was going to pick- Lucy would've probably laughed. Mira had a very strong parenting instinct. She was –in a way- the mother to all of them, just as Makarov was the grandfather. Which would make Laxus the father… which made her smile to herself. She couldn't picture him being a father, although she was sure Mira would probably blush at the thought of them being married.

"You alright? You honestly don't drink very often, Natsu," Lucy said, reaching out a hand and hesitantly setting it on his shoulder.

Natsu turned, his eyes slowly trailing down to her hand. He focused on it for a while and she wasn't sure why. Was she cold or something? Or was he focusing on her guild mark? She had no idea. His eyes eventually wandered up to meet hers and he shrugged, flailing in his movements. Man, was he drunk.

"I-I'm fine, I mean just… shhhh, I'm fine." He swiveled toward her. "A man's g-gotta have a little fun, y-y'know." He shook a finger at her before moving his tongue around in his mouth like he'd never had a tongue before.

"Alright… if you say so," she said hesitantly, bringing her hand back to her lap. She'd never seen him drunk like this before. Maybe it was a coincidence. Or maybe his girl had shot him down. Either way, she wasn't sure what she thought of it.

.

.

.

**Day 5- 52 hours left**

Lucy hadn't seen Natsu all day. It was nearing dinner time and he _still_ wasn't showing up; and honestly, it worried her.

She'd had a lot of inner turmoil of her own during the first several days. Throughout her time as Natsu's partner and teammate she'd tried to ignore her feelings for him. She knew she wasn't the best at it, she wasn't the best at hiding them either, and most likely everyone knew about them. Except Natsu of course, but that was expected with his oblivious attitude.

She found herself hoping for the best for him. At first, the thought of him being with another girl hurt a lot, more than she'd care to admit, but after the first day of the dare/bet –she still didn't know which to call it- she decided she'd just route for him in general. Did she want to be the girl he chose? Yeah. But she'd rather see him prove Gray wrong with another girl than to fail altogether. Even if it was someone rather than her, she'd be happy for him. In the end, she just wanted the best for Natsu.

She still really wanted it to be her, though. She waited and hoped every night that maybe he'd finally ask _her_. 

But with his weird behavior, she'd decided that maybe he'd already asked. At first she didn't know, but after the night of drunkenness she was pretty sure he'd been shot down. She felt bad for him. Being turned down was rough.

If he was gone at dinner, that meant he definitely had something really important to do. She'd never once seen him miss a meal, let alone the largest one of the day. Maybe he _was_ really that depressed; he didn't even want to eat.

And so she'd wandered around the guild, and town, to try and find him. She'd come up empty, but at least she'd tried.

Eventually she trailed her way back to the guild, walking around behind it to sit in the shade and stare at the slowly setting sun. She hoped he wasn't starving.

A speck on the horizon caught her attention then. She squinted, shading her eyes from the sun. She sighed a breath of relief when she could see the scarf fluttering out behind the figure. It was him, he was there, he wasn't dead or dying or depressed. She smiled to herself, pushing off of the building and up to stand. That was when she saw another figure beside him.

She squinted harder, and after a bit of confusion and trying to place a figure to a face, she realized who it was. Lisanna.

Lucy swallowed thickly, her hand falling to her side. She stared at them in the distance for a while, unnoticed, as she tried to figure out what they were talking about. She knew. They were talking about the date probably. Lisanna was the girl that Natsu had feelings for. Lucy couldn't say she hadn't seen it coming. They were very close, and honestly, she thought they'd make a sweet couple.

She stared for a moment longer, her heart slightly aching before making a fist of determination and nodding to herself. She wished him luck. Hopefully he wouldn't be let down.

.

.

.

**Day 6- 23 hours left**

In the very same barstool that he'd been in before, drunk off his ass, he was now sitting with a grin ear-to-ear on his face. He drank nothing this time, instead asking Mira for the largest plate of food she could make.

He sat chowing down on it in complete bliss.

Lucy wanted to ask him how it'd gone. She wanted to know what Lisanna's answer had been. If not for him, for herself. She wanted to know whether Natsu was still open, if there was a possibility that he'd choose _her_ and not Lisanna one day, or if she had said yes and they were going to go on that date and prove Gray wrong.

She wanted to know. It was eating her alive inside.

But he sat there eating away in pure ecstasy, seemingly without a care in the world, and she couldn't bring herself to ask. She bit her lip instead, picking at her own food in worry.

.

.

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**Day 7- 14 hours left**

She hadn't seen him at all. He'd eaten his gigantic meal the past night and disappeared. He hadn't stopped by her house to spend the night in her bed like he usually did. 

She hadn't seen even a trace of him, nor had anyone else. 

She was worried. 

. 

. 

. 

****Day 7- 8 hours left** **

Still no sign of him. 

She'd worried herself sick over not only him, but the dare as well. She just wanted to know the answer already. She didn't even care if he had a girl or not now, she just wanted to know. It was killing her. 

As much as she wanted to push down her own feelings and forget any thoughts of romance toward Natsu, she couldn't, and she _just_ wanted to know the answer. 

. 

. 

. 

**Day 7- 1 hour left**

She sipped her soda idly, her eyes glued to the door of the guild. She hadn't seen him still and the worry was slowly wearing her down. 

She had developed a sort of irritation by now. 

They were best friends, always together, and yet he hadn't told her a thing. He hadn't told her about anything. Not what he was thinking, not what he was worried about, not who he liked, not who he was going to ask out, not that it was Lisanna, not her answer, not anything. 

If she really was his close friend, he sure wasn't acting like it. Although, he wasn't exactly one to share those kinds of things. But still, it would've been nice for him to share _something_. 

Not only that but he wasn't showing up. Gray was here, tapping his fingers, but he wasn't. 

Maybe he'd bailed after all. 

. 

. 

. 

**Day 7- 5 minutes left**

"I don't think he's coming," Gray sighed, shaking his head. "Look, I really do got a date, so I gotta go soon, even if he doesn't show up." 

"Yeah," Lucy said softly, her eyes still locked on the door. "I thought he'd be here though. I saw him with Lisanna and I'm pretty sure she accepted." 

Gray snorted. "Lisanna? He wouldn't ask her out." 

"Why not?" Lucy sighed. "They've been friends for so long. I could practically see it coming." 

Gray shook his head. "Naw. They're exactly that: friends. Natsu's talked about her before and if there's one person I'm sure he's not into, it's her. Honestly, I thought it was going to be you. Why're you so down, anyway?" Gray asked, cocking an eyebrow. 

Lucy nearly choked. Gray thought Natsu would've asked _her_? She had to admit she'd had little flickers of hope and excitement that it would be her. She was the one who was closest to him after all, but she'd seen him and Lisanna. It'd been sunset and it'd been so romantic. Despite what Gray said, Natsu had chosen Lisanna. It was cut and dried like that. It was just a matter of whether or not Lisanna accepted. 

Gray shoved off of his chair. "Alright, well it's late. He's a no-show. Not surprised. I guess it's time for me to go." He gave Lucy a slight wave before walking toward the doors. 

_'Natsu you idiot, where are you?'_ she thought to herself with a growl, also getting up from her chair and following Gray toward the doors. She was going to track Natsu down and shake some sense into him. Even if Lisanna had said no, he should've shown up. Not appearing at a bet was even worse than admitting defeat. It was shameful, in a way. 

Gray pushed open the doors, Lucy right on his heels as she silently fumed to herself, and the minute they'd creaked open far enough so that the moon shone some light inside, they heard, "Hey, what took you guys so long? I'm growin' old out here!" 

"O-oy!" Gray jumped, stumbling to the side in surprise. Lucy spotted Natsu just outside, hands on his hips and his eyes squinted in irritation. Gray held a hand to his chest before bellowing, "Don't sneak up on people like that, ya bastard!" 

Natsu shrugged with a slight grin. "So, you ready to go?" he asked. 

Gray stared at him for a moment and Lucy slowly trodded to the ice mage's side. She stood on her tip-toes, looking behind Natsu, beside Natsu, down the street, back in the guild, but couldn't find his date. 

"You got your girl?" Gray asked. "Or did she say no?" 

Natsu scoffed, waving a hand at Gray. "O'course I got 'er. What kind of lame-o do you think I am?" 

Gray stared incredulously at him for a moment, the large guild doors finally shuddering to a close. "Where is she?" 

Natsu grinned, jolting forward and hooking his arm with Lucy's. "She's right here, dumbass, what other girl is here?" 

Lucy squealed in surprise, her eyes going wide and her face going red. No, no she was definitely not his girl. He hadn't said a word to her. She looked over at him with shock and a tad of panic and he gave her a look out of the corner of his eye that said 'just go along with it'. 

She had a brief but large internal battle in that moment, clenching her teeth as sweat began to break out on her forehead. She kinda wanted to go along with it. She wanted to go out on a date with him no matter what the circumstance… but then again she'd always wanted their first date to be magical, not because he'd been rejected by another girl, but still wanted to win a bet. But then again… she really wanted a date with Natsu, and she was his partner… they took on missions all the time together, maybe that's what this was considered too. 

"Y-yeah," she stuttered with a forced laugh. "Of course it's me! I've been here all along!" She gave a sideways glance at Natsu who was nodding toward Gray. 

"But you said-" 

Lucy waved a hand to interrupt the ice mage. "I was just kidding. I was trying to get you worried that he wouldn't show up when I said it wasn't me he chose. Gotcha!" she called, pointing a finger in his direction and her smile twitching. She had no idea if she was convincing in the least. 

"A-alright… if you say so…," Gray trailed off, still looking thoroughly confused and a tad unconvinced. 

"Who's _your_ date?" Natsu asked cockily, dragging Lucy along with him as he stomped forward. 

Gray jogged to catch up with them before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Juvia." 

"But Mira said-" 

"Yeah, yeah," Gray murmured. "She put on a show in the guild about how upset she was that I was going out with some girl and I wouldn't tell her who she was. We kinda wanted it to be private. You know nothing stays secret for very long there." 

Lucy slowly nodded. "Yeah, no it doesn't." 

"Speaking of which," Gray said, "I need to go get her. You guys go on ahead, I'll go grab her and meet back up in like five minutes." With that he was off, waving over his shoulder as he sprinted ahead. 

"Okay," Lucy called. 

Gray slowly disappeared into the distance and slowly the realization that she and Natsu were alone dawned upon her. She gulped, pulling away from him slightly and trying to stay calm. 

"You could've told me that you were going to use me to win the bet," she mumbled. "I would've liked a little heads up." 

Natsu chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Hah, yeah… sorry about that." 

She shook her head and smiled lightly, elbowing him in the side. "I guess I'm the second choice then, eh? Who shot ya down?" She already knew the answer but she figured she could ask; it was the polite thing to do. Plus, she didn't exactly want him thinking she'd been stalking him and keeping tabs on who he talked with, or anything. 

Natsu's eyebrows pinched together and he frowned slightly. "No one shot me down. Second choice? What?" 

Lucy stared at him slowly. He didn't want to admit it, did he? Fine then, she'd call him out. She sighed. "I saw you talking with Lisanna; she shot you down. Ooh, that's gotta hurt." 

Natsu frowned deeper and shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talkin' about, Luce. You really do say some weird things." She blanched, staring at him confusedly before he continued. "There's no way I'd ask out Lisanna," he snorted. "She's like a sister. Plus, she was the one that gave me this idea!" 

"This… idea?" Lucy squeaked. 

Natsu unhooked their arms and walked ahead a bit, turning around and walking backwards, pulling his hands behind his head. Lucy swore she saw a light blush on his cheeks but when she blinked, it was gone. 

"Yeah! I was havin' a real hard time askin' you out so she said to just throw it right at cha! That you'd handle it _way_ better and not worry about it if I just sprung it on ya on the day of the date. She said you might say yes easier too," he chuckled. "I guess she was right." 

Lucy stopped dead in her tracks but Natsu continued to walk, a grin on his face. "Wait, so this is an actual date?!" she shouted at him. "You weren't kidding when you said it was me?!" 

Natsu shook his head, stumbling over a rock and stopping. "No. Why? Did you think I was kidding?" 

"Y-yeah!" she shouted. "You gave me that whole "just go along with it" look and everything. I figured we were just tricking Gray!" she shrieked. Her voice was extremely high-pitched by now, embarrassment catching up with her as she became very flustered. She tugged at her skirt and her clothes. What was she doing? She was in such normal clothes. She should've dressed up. And Natsu hadn't even asked her out. She was going on a date and he hadn't done it properly. This wasn't how she'd pictured it! This definitely wasn't how she'd pictured it. She fidgeted uncomfortably. 

Natsu grinned. "No, I didn't give you some kind of secret look; I was watching you to see if you'd accept my offer. Which means you and I are going out, since you accepted. And well, you're coming with me, aren't you? That means we're going on a date. Isn't that something couples do? Right? Did I get this wrong? I'm really not sure Lisanna knows what she's talking about. Wait… are you rejecting me, Luce?" 

The questions were rapid-fire, but she definitely got ahold of the last one. "No!" she shouted a little too loudly, quickly shaking her hands at him. "No, no I'm not rejecting you, I was just confused." She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. So Natsu thought when he flat-out stated that Lucy was his date, that that was when she would answer 'yes' or 'no'. That had been his version of asking her out, and since she'd gone along with it, he'd taken it as a yes. 

"So you're going out with me, then?" Natsu asked. He frowned. "I'm still not sure if I'm using that term right…," he shrugged. "Ohwell, we gotta meet Gray, c'mon, he'll think we ditched." 

With that he ran back, snatching Lucy by the arm and dragging her along with him as he ran down the cobblestoned street. She stumbled along behind him, many questions and worries running through her head. She eventually decided that she'd leave it be. She had the gist of it down. It'd turned out she _was_ the one he had feelings for, and he'd asked her out, in his weird way. Of course, she would've said yes had he asked in a more traditional sense, and so going on a date with him would've been inevitable. She would've said yes any way he would have worded it. She would say yes to him when he asked her out, whenever it was. 

So even though she was more than a little confused, she realized in his mind she'd said yes, and so it really didn't matter. 

Man, this wasn't what she'd pictured. She'd pictured him asking her flat-out, and then she'd be able to give him her answer nice and easy. 

But then again, when things came to Natsu, they were never very cut and dried. And honestly, that's one of the things she liked about him most. 

No, it wasn't what she'd pictured when she'd daydreamed about it, but it'd be a story to tell later, and a memory they both shared, which in the end was what mattered most. 

But they'd definitely have to iron out some things later. Especially going over the proper way to ask a question. 


	6. Day 6- Effulgence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also figured I should throw in a drabble. Diversity is good, no? XD

Was it cheesy to say that she'd somehow become the center of his universe? It was incredibly cheesy. Oh Mavis, it was cheesy and corny and just the thought of it kinda made him want to barf.

He couldn't believe it but he'd become that boy he'd thought he'd never be. He loved magic, he loved his guild mates, he loved fighting alongside his family, he loved having fun, but one thing he never thought he'd love, was a girl.

Girls were icky. He'd been told they had cooties. Igneel had told him that girls had their place in life, and that Natsu would eventually realize it when he was older, but in living life after Igneel, he'd been told girls were gross.

They were all girly and weird. Sure he had girls that were friends. Erza scared the bejeezus out of him, Lisanna had been his best friend for a while, he loved Mira like a sister, and the rest of the Fairy Tail girls were like his family. He liked girls as friends, but he'd never thought he'd like one in a… different sense.

He'd not thought twice about anything when he'd dragged that surprisingly loud blonde mage back to Fairy Tail. She wanted to join, so he'd help her out. Honestly, he thought that would be the last time he'd really interact with her.

But he'd been wrong. They went out on a mission together what… two days after she'd joined? Happy'd taken a liking to her. She'd fit in with the guild easier than any of the others had. The reasons for him to be close to her seemed to just keep piling up. Especially so when he began to feel like maybe she was the most important thing to him.

Maybe more than taking jobs and fighting and finding Igneel and being a great mage, she was the most important. She made him happy in a way he hadn't felt before. He could be himself around her. He could be himself and completely relax. He'd never been able to do that around anyone before, boy or girl, except maybe Happy, but he was an Exceed, after all.

She was just different. He couldn't tell anyone how or why she was different, but she was. He couldn't articulate the feeling he had in his chest when she'd smile, and he couldn't describe the warm light inside of him when she'd say his name.

He just couldn't explain it. That, and he couldn't explain when it'd happened either. One minute she was a friend, that new girl, and the next, she was absolutely everything to him.

She shone brightly, blindingly so. She was far brighter than the constellations she called upon for help. It wasn't a visual brightness; not everyone could see it. But he could. He felt the need to cover his eyes and squint into her blinding presence when she was around.

But it didn't hurt. It didn't hurt his eyes like the sun did if he stared at it for too long. It was nice. The light she produced was warm and soothing, all the while dazzling him speechless.

He wasn't sure when she'd suddenly become the center of his universe. He wasn't sure of the day when he'd promised himself that he'd never let her go. She was one of the good ones, perhaps _the_ good one. Maybe she'd been the type of girl Igneel had talked about.

She was a sun, shining brightly amongst crowds of dull spirits. Everyone else seemed blank and grey to him, while she bathed the world, and him, in color.

She was a special one. That was for sure. He'd do everything he could to keep that light of hers glowing brightly, and he'd also do everything he could to stay in the presence of that light, forever.


	7. Day 7- Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Natsu wants to take a small break from parenting and go on a job. And while Lucy's up for the idea, she's much more worried about the fire in the backyard.

"Hey, Luce?" Warm arms wrapped around her waist and he leaned into her back, pushing her up closer to the kitchen sink where she was washing her hands. His warm breath tickled her neck and she smiled.

"Mm?" She shook her hands of the water, turning off the faucet with her elbow and reaching for a towel.

He sighed behind her. "I was just thinkin'…," he trailed off. As she dried her hands she maneuvered around in his grasp so she was facing him. He looked a little worried, maybe nervous, she couldn't tell. Her eyebrows pinched together and he continued. "Y'know I was just thinkin' that we hadn't gone on a job in like… forever."

He paused again and Lucy peered over his shoulder, the large window on the opposite side of the Dragneel's house revealing a beautiful day and a lush backyard, completely green aside from a spot of pink on the grass. Lucy watched carefully as the spot of pink danced around, laughing. Nashi had only been with their family for a few years, but already it felt like Lucy couldn't remember life without her daughter. She'd become her world.

As Natsu grumbled to himself, apparently a little frustrated she hadn't spoken up, Lucy eyed Nashi. What was she doing? She was just running around with her hands toward the sky as if she thought she'd catch something. Lucy stared… and finally understood when a flash of blue dove down and past the window. Oh, Happy was playing with her. Sometimes Lucy thought that Nashi liked Happy better than she liked either her or Natsu. They were her parents but she seemed much more intrigued by the blue Exceed whose tail still fascinated her.

Natsu cleared his throat. "I mean… we seriously haven't gone on a job in forever. Nashi was born what… three years ago now? I think we could take a little time off. Even Alzack and Bisca took a break here and there from Asuka. Remember when we babysitted her? I bet Levy would be happy to." Natsu rested his chin on Lucy's shoulder with a sigh.

She nodded against his neck. He had a point. They hadn't really gotten out of the house much, let alone gotten farther than the guild. Lucy had enjoyed every minute spent with her daughter, as had Natsu, but everyone needed a break every once in a while.

Her eyes trailed back to Nashi in the backyard whose attention was now off of Happy, and now onto… her hands. The small pink-haired girl was grinning ear-to-ear and staring down at her hands. Her mouth was moving as she talked to herself, although Lucy couldn't make out the words.

And before Lucy could even figure out what her daughter was doing… there had been a blast of fire, blinding her temporarily before disappearing in a whoosh. Her eyes widened as she saw Nashi still grinning, pumping a very tiny fist into the air. The bushes in the background were on fire, flames slowly crackling to life.

Lucy opened her mouth to speak up but Natsu interrupted.

"Levy said she and Gajeel were thinking about having a family, right? It'd be good practice for them; plus, she's your best friend and she's super trustworthy."

Lucy squirmed as the flaming bushes soon became piles of ash, the fire spreading to the fence. "Um, Natsu-"

"It doesn't have to be a long job! We could just take a super short one and come back in a couple days, no harm done."

Nashi was still dancing around in the backyard, Happy circling the fire and his paws waving around helplessly as if he had no idea what to do. He flapped his wings at the fire, only making it worse and larger and he slapped his paws to his face in horror, looking around quickly to see if anyone had seen his failed effort. He didn't see Lucy watching through the window.

"N-Natsu really I-"

"I bet your spirits are worried," Natsu added, nuzzling his nose into her hair. "You haven't used them in so long."

Lucy's mouth opened and closed helplessly as she watched. It wasn't out of the ordinary for Nashi to attempt fire magic. Fire Dragon Slayer magic to be more specific. Apparently the gift of teaching that Igneel had given to Natsu, Natsu had given to Nashi. He'd been teaching her small things here and there basically since she'd been born. And while no, Natsu himself wasn't a dragon, he was a good enough teacher to bestow upon her some of his magic.

Usually Nashi could only get out a small ball of flames if she was lucky, usually just smoke, but that toddler had been so determined to "be like Daddy" that she'd been practicing nonstop. Practicing so hard that this time she'd produced much more than just a small flaming sphere. Lucy assumed she got her determination from her father.

While Lucy didn't exactly approve of all the fire hazards that both Natsu and Nashi now provided, she did see some kind of sweet occurrence taking place. Natsu's father had vanished without a trace and he'd been searching for him ever since, to no avail. Lucy knew better than anyone –aside from Happy, maybe- that all Natsu really wanted was for Igneel to return, for him to have that father figure again, and to show everyone that he wasn't crazy.

Lucy didn't know if Natsu had given up on the hunt for Igneel, or if he'd simply come to terms with it, but lately he hadn't been searching for his dragon as much. Instead he became the father figure he so wanted, teaching his own child his magic and vowing to never leave. She wasn't sure if Natsu was trying to make up for the time he'd never had with Igneel by spending it all with Nashi or not, but either way he had really taken his duties as a father seriously.

She blinked, bringing her thoughts back to the situation at hand, the fire much larger now and lapping up at the sky as Happy cried, tears streaming down his face as his mouth moved slowly, probably muttering to himself about what a horrible caretaker he was, and that he didn't know why he'd been entrusted with babysitting duties. Which on a normal day Lucy would've found amusing, but now she was just plain worried.

"It doesn't even have to be a job. We could just go on a little trip or a little outing. Just spend some quality time together. Please, Luce." He sounded desperate.

She'd been interrupted twice now, and she was seriously wondering how much longer it'd be before the house caught on fire, so she blurted quickly, before he had to the chance to interrupt. "Yes, Natsu. I agree, we should go on a job, it'd be fun but… sweetie, the backyard's on fire."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one! Yay! NaLu week 2014 over and done with. Bittersweet. Can't wait for next year! Anyone know when other Fairy Tail weeks are? NaLu is the only one I know of.  
> I hope you enjoyed! :D


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